Always the Quiet Ones
by Lyra Kamiya
Summary: When he left before, he came back eventually... but a girl can't wait forever, can she? It'll be best for her if she just learns to move on... AR, Eventually ShinoHina


I've been hoping to write some real ShinoHina for quiet some time, and I'm hoping this fic, based loosely off a few RPs I've done, will finally spread my love for the couple.

This is an AR where Naruto has not yet returned from training the frogs, and neither Pain or Sasuke has come to attack the village, nothing like that. It's an era of eerie peace.

The title is meant to be a simple statement, not the standard snide "it's always the quiet ones". For now at least.

As always, Naruto is not mine... only this particular story.

**Always the Quiet Ones**

_Chapter 1 - When the Silence Grows too Thick_

It would be three years that September since Naruto had left town again. It was, some time around now, three years since he'd come back to begin with - Shino was sure that if he asked Hinata or Sakura, they'd be able to tell him the exact date of his return from his training with Jiraiya, but it was not an anniversary he either cared or needed to observe.

The date he'd left again - to train with the toads and scarcely be heard from again - was one Shino had little choice but to know by heart, as for the last two years, it had been the most miserable day of his teammate's life. Hinata's shine, the one that had been so impermeable from the day Naruto defended her a the Chuunin Exams... it had disappeared on that first anniversary. Slowly the strong girl she had become had faded away until she was just a shadow of her former self, resembling more the quiet girl who he'd barely noticed back in the academy than the powerful one who had dominated the Exams the day she had achieved her own Chuunin status.

Shino was contemplating these facts only because right now was one of those rare moments where Hinata seemed genuinely happy lately, and the contrast was something remarkable and depressing. She sat on the floor in the middle of the room, a pair of small hands wrapped in her own as she playfully tried to teach Miraiko the basic hand-signs. Kurenai's daughter was now two years old and was the favorite person of not just her mother and godfather, but also every member of the Konoha 11. Hinata took every chance she got to babysit, nearly going so far as to fight Shikamaru and his team for the honor whenever a long mission came up for Kurenai.

She looked so natural playing with Miraiko, and it was a source of great joy to him that one of the girl's first words had been Hinata's name. The girl tried once more to mimic the movement Hinata was making, then giggled and clapped a few times instead, signaling she was done with this game. "Horsies!" she announced, turning around and toddling off towards her overflowing toy chest. Hinata turned back to smile at Shino and Kurenai where they were sitting, then crawled carefully after her, sitting beside the toy chest to put back any toys that were cast aside as Miraiko searched for her favorite stuffed horses - presents from Temari, for horses were in Suna what dogs were to Konoha.

Hinata was 17 now, and maturing beautifully, an opinion held not just by Shino but shared by virtually every man she ran into, prompting her teammates to become more protective of her by the day. They'd seen photos of her mother and knew that she was looking more and more like her every day - so much so that she'd found some of the deceased woman's kimonos the year before and worn them for her birthday. Sadly some of her beauty was now hidden by the tired lines that marred her face more with each passing week.

He wondered how much longer it could last until the light faded entirely from her eyes. He wondered if Naruto would come back if he knew she was in love with him still.

Somewhere inside, he wondered why she was in love with him still.

Miraiko's sudden wailing ripped him free from his thoughts, and he went to stand, ready to scoop the girl up from where she'd toppled to the floor, but Kurenai was halfway across the room before he could react even that far. "There there," Kurenai cooed in the comforting voice only a mother could manage. "What's hurt, Mimi?" Miraiko sniffled and rubbed her eyes, still whimpering in pain, and held out one hand weakly towards her mommy.

"I'm so sorry Sensei," Hinata squeaked, "I should have been holding up the lid so she couldn't get hurt... it fell so suddenly, and she pinched her fingers..."Hinata stood beside the taller woman, biting her lip and wringing her hands together. "Sorry Mimi-chan," she whispered, reaching to stroke the girl's hair softly.

"It's okay, it's nap time anyway," Kurenai smiled. "The lid's not very heavy and can't even close all the way... it just scared you, didn't it Mimi?" She nodded again, her thumb firmly in her mouth, her eyes still red from the brief bout of crying. "Tell Hinata-chan that it's okay?" she urged, bouncing her daughter a bit in her arms and kissing her temple.

"'soki," Miraiko mumbled, thumb in her mouth the whole time, before hiding her face in her mother's shoulder.

Hinata smiled softly and managed a single chuckle, stroking the girl's hair for a moment and then giving her old teacher a one-armed hug. "I'll be more careful next time, Kurenai, I promise," she whispered. "Saturday, right?"

Kurenai nodded, "I've got a quick mission this weekend, and it's your turn, so yes. Mimi's always happy to sleep over at Hinata's house, isn't she," she cooed, and the little girl nodded, yawning quietly.

"Hinata's food good," she added, then turned her head back again. Hinata giggled, blushing slightly.

"I'll get her to bed... you two go have some fun. I'm sure you're enjoying how quiet it is while Kiba's out, but really, it's okay to liven it up a little," she teased, smiling at both of her old students. "Especially you, Shino. Being a Jounin doesn't have to be all work..."

He simply nodded, holding out Hinata's coat for her. He'd been a Jounin and thus their official team captain for over a year now, but he didn't feel it really changed anything. "I know it's not. However, spending time with my team is what I enjoy. I'm much happier here than at a large party."

Kurenai smiled in return, kissing her daughter's head again as she watched the two gather their things and wander out the door. "I know... you two were always the quiet ones."

Shino nodded at his old teacher with a slight smile at the affectionate way she said that, bowing before she shut the door. He turned to look at Hinata again before setting off down the road, his eyes slipping shut behind his sunglasses as his teammate fell into step just behind him.

They were the quiet ones indeed... so why had the silence slowly grown so uncomfortable?


End file.
